Intaglio printing press



March 13, 1945.

C. S. CRAFTS INTAGLIO PRINTING PRESS Filed March 30, 1943 Patented Mar. 13, 1945 um'rso S'lAT- PATENT INTAGLIO PRINTING PRESS Curtis S. Crafts, Oak Park, Ill., assignor to The Goss Printing Press Company, Chicago, 111., a corporation of Illinois Application March 30, 1943, Serial No. 481,065

9 Claims.

The invention consists in the novel parts, constructions, arrangements, combinations, and improvements herein shown and described.

The accompanying drawing, referred to herein and constituting a part hereof, illustrates one embodiment of the invention, and together with the description, serves to explain the principles of the invention.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved inking means for applying ink to the intaglio design cylinder of a rotary intaglio printing press. A further object is the provision of such inking means which insures the adequate inking of the intaglio design 01 the cylinder and is simple and economical in its construction and operation. Still another object is to provide an ink fountain for inking an intaglio design cylinder which supplies ink to the cylinder for the intimate and complete inking of the intaglio design thereon and is adapted to be easily and thoroughly cleaned when a printing run has been terminated. The invention further provides an ink fountain for a rotary intaglio printing press which is adapted for use with various sized design cylinders and with which the changing of design cylinders may be accomplished with comparative ease.

The accompanying drawing is a cross sectional view of an intaglio design cylinder of a rotary intaglio printing press and inking means for the cylinder, showing an illustrative embodiment of the present invention.

With the stated and other objects in view there is provided in an illustrative embodiment of the invention, as shown in the accompanying drawing, a rotatably mounted intaglio cylinder having an intaglio design on its periphery for intaglio printing in cooperation with a suitableimpression cylinder and other parts of the customary rotary intaglio printing press. An ink fountain is provided substantially enclosing the intaglio design cylinder, and a trough is positioned within the fountain to hold a body of ink through which theintaglio design on the periphery of the cylinder is passed as the cylinder is rotated in printing. The bottom of the ink fountain serve as a reservoir for ink not immediately utilized fr. printing, and a pump is provided to remove int: from the bottom of the fountain and supply it opposite the direction of rotation of the cylinder From the chamber the ink may flow into the ink trough to supply and replenish the body of ink therein available to ink the intaglio design.

At the side of the ink trough in the direction of rotation of the cylinder there is provided a baille member or plate, which extends the length of the intaglio design cylinder and has an edge closely adjacent to the periphery of the design cylinder. The bafile plate is positioned slightly above the quiet level of ink inthe trough and covers the space between the trough edge and the periphery of the design cylinder except for the small space between the edge of the baille plate and the cylinder. The-ink trough in operating position has no other available ink exit circumferentially of the cylinder between the ink entrance from the chamber and the baffle. so that as the design cylinder swiftly rotates it tends to force the ink body in its direction of rotation and against the bafile plate, creating a turbulence at the plate and impelling the ink into intimate and complete contact with the intaglio design as the ink seeks to escape between so the baffle and cylinder.

The ink trough is formed of two semi-trough members or sections which abut along a line Iongitudinally of the trough. One of these sections is fixed to an upper side wall portion of the icon 3g tain, and this portion is pivotally mounted with respect to its fixed lower side wall portion. The pivotal upper side wall portion'also carries the ink chamber communicating with the ink trough, and the side wall portion, ink trough section, and chamber may be pivoted outwardly for cleaning and to dump the ink in the trough into the fountain, a screen being arranged between the bottom of the trough and the bottom of the ink fountain.

The other semi-trough member or section is likewise pivotally mounted allowing access to the screen and ink fountain for thorough cleaning.

It will be understood that the foregoing general description and the following detailed description as well are exemplary andexplanatory of the invention but are not restrictive thereof.

Referring now in detail to the illustrative embodiment of the present invention shown by way of example in the accompanying drawing, there 55 is provided an intaglio design cylinder 86 to coto an ink chamber at the side of the fountainoperate with an impression cylinder (not shown) for rotary intaglio printing. The design cylinder I is rotatably mounted and driven in any suitable and customary way and is almost completely enclosed by an ink fountain, the cylinder projecting above the fountain for cooperation with the impression cylinder in printing.

The ink fountain comprises a bottom portion II to hold a substantial ink supply in reserve and is mounted upon sturdy end frame members l2 which may be a part of the printing press frame. A trough indicated generally by the numeral I4 is provided within the ink fountain and in the upper portion thereof, and the trough encloses a portion of the design cylinder III so that as the design cylinder is driven in a counter clockwise direction in printing, the intaglio design on the cylindrical periphery of the cylinder will be carried through a body of ink in the trough and inked for later impression on the traveling web. A doctor blade mechanism indicated generally by the numeral I5 is provided, having a doctor knife I6 to bear against the periphery of design cylinder II] closely adjacent to the place at which the traveling web contacts the design cylinder for taking the impression, the doctor knife cleaning off 'ink from the surface of the cylinder which is not deposited in the intaglio design. A sealing blade I1 is positioned beneath the doctor blade I6 and is supported by a bracket I8 mounted on the upper side wall portion I9 of the ink fountain, which in turn is mounted on the side wall portion of the bottom portion II of the fountain.

I The doctor blade mechanism I5 may be of any conventional and appropriate design and the construction and operation thereof are well known and understood by persons skilled in the art, so that no more detailed description thereof need here be given.

The ink fountain for design cylinder I0 further comprises a lower side wall of the bottom portion I I, said side wall having an outwardly turned flange 26 integral with its upper edge. The side wall 25 at its upper edge is provided with a plurality of outwardly extending brackets 21, to which are hinged by means of pins 28 the brackets 29 secured to an upper side wall portion 30 of the ink fountain. The side wall portion 30 is thus pivotally mounted for outward movement upon lower side wall portion 25, and has an inwardly extending flange 3I at its lower edge to rest upon flange 26 when the side wall portions are in closed relationship. An integral longitudinally extending lip 32 is provided onthe flange 3| to prevent the escape of ink between side wall portions 25 and 30, and particularly when the foun tain is opened as hereinafter described.

The ink trough I4 is formed of two semi-trough members indicated by the numerals 35 and 36, and these members abut against each other along a line longitudinally of the trough, as at 31, to form the closed trough adapted to hold a body of ink for contact with design cylinder I 0. The semi-trough member 36 is pivotally mounted on studs 38 which are secured to each end wall 39 of the ink fountain whereby the'member may be moved upwardly. Brackets 48 fixed to end walls 39 of the fountain support semi-trough member 36 when 'it is in its lower position. The other semi-trough member 35 is secured by means of bolts 40 to the upper side wall portion 38, and thus is pivotally mounted formovement with said wall portion.

Means are provided for continuously supplying ink to the trough I4 in order to provide and maintain a body of ink therein, and as illustratively shown, comprise a pump 4| to draw ink through pipe 42 from a sump 43 which is positioned centrally of the length of the ink fountain bottom II and at the edge thereof, thebottom wall of the fountain inclining into the sump to'insure the proper draining of ink.

Ink from pump H is forwarded through pipe 44 and through a movable joint 45 into an ink chamber 46. The ink chamber 46 lies on the inside of the upper side wall portion 30 and extends the length thereof, being formed by a longitudinal plate 50 secured to the wall portion, and by a bottom plate 5| which is formed integrally with semi-trough member 35. One or more ducts 52 allow the entrance of ink into chamber 46, and a slot 53 extending along the length of the cham-.

her at its inner side allows the passage of ink into trough I4. A manifold 48' of about half the length of the ink fountain and positioned centrally of the length is provided to receive ink from the pump 4I before it passes into chamber 48 through ducts 52. Ink from the supply in the bottom of the fountain may thus be continuously supplied to the trough, the chamber 45 serving to dampen pulsations of ink and supply it in smooth and continuous streams to the side of the trough opposite the direction of rotation of the cylinder I0.

A baffle plate or member 60 is secured by screws BI to the upper edge of trough I4 at its side in the direction of rotation of cylinder Ill. Plate 60 extends the length of trough I4 and its inner edge lies closely adjacent the cylindrical surface of cylinder I0.

The upper side wall portion 30 may be provided at its top with a cover plate extending toward cylinder Ill to prevent splashing and escape of ink, and different sizes of such cover plate may be installed for different sizes of design cylinders. An end plate 66 is also provided at each end of the fountain pivotally mounted on the end walls 39 of the ink fountain. An ink screen 61 is positioned in the bottom of the ink fountain beneath trough I4,

With the ink fountain shown and described.

it will be apparent that provision is made for the easy and efficient cleaning of the fountain and appurtenant parts and the changing of the design cylinder I0 when that is desired. The upper side .wall 30 and semi-trough member 35 may be pivoted outwardly to drain the body of ink in the trough into bottom portion II of the fountain, and lip 32 will prevent the ink from escaping from the fountain when the semi-trough member is slightly pivoted. When the side wall 30 and member 35 are moved substantially outwardly, the cylinder I0 may be removed and replaced, and the chamber 45 and other parts of the fountain may be cleaned. The semi-trough member 36 may also be upwardly pivoted in order to give access to the screen 61 and bottom of the fountain for cleansing and repair purposes.

It will be noted that baflle plate 60 is positioned only a relatively short distance above the quiet level of ink in the trough I4, and that there is no other exit circumferentially of the cylinder for ink from the trough, in its assembled ink holding position, between the ducts 53 and the plate 60. Thus the body of ink in the trough will tend to be forced in the direction of plate 60 when the cylinder III is rotating for printing and considerable turbulence will result about the bottom surface of the plate. The ink can escape from the trough only in the relatively small spaces between the edge of plate 60 and the surface of the design cylinder l and between the ends of the cylinder and the ends of the trough. The ink will thus be forced into the most minute depressions of the intaglio design on the surface of the cylinder, and imperfect printing due to inking failure will be avoided. Ink escaping past the baffle plate 60 and wiped off by the doctor knife l6 may return to the bottom of the ink fountain ll through a longitudinal slot 68 between plate 60 and side wall I 9 of the fountain.

The invention in its broader aspects is not limited to the specific mechanisms shown and described but departures may be made therefrom within the scope of the accompanying claims without departing from the principles of the invention and without sacrificing its chief advantages.

What I claim is:

1. A rotary intaglio printing press including in combination an intaglio design cylinder, and an ink trough enclosing a lower portion of the design cylinder, said ink trough comprising a pair of semi-trough members abutting lengthwise of the design cylinder and each member being pivotally mounted; the pivots being spaced apart whereby pivotal movement of either member spaces the members apart.

2. A rotary intaglio printing press including in combination an intaglio design cylinder and an ink trough enclosing a lower portion of the design cylinder, said ink trough comprising a pair of abutting semi-trough members cooperating to hold ink about a portion of the design cylinder, said members each being movably mounted for movement toward and from the other along their abutting portions whereby the trough may be drained and access had to space beneath the trough.

3. A rotary intaglio printing press including in combination an intaglio design cylinder, an ink trough enclosing a lower portion of the design cylinder, said trough comprising a pair of semitrough members abuttingalong a linelengthwise of the design cylinder, and means movably mounting each of the semi-trough members for moving the members toward and-from said line.

4. An ink trough for holding ink about a lower portion of an intaglio design cylinder comprising abutting trough sections cooperating to hold ink at least one section being movably mounted for movement into and out of'abutting relation with respect to the other section.

5. A rotary intaglio printing press including in combination an intaglio design cylinder, an ink fountain, an ink trough within the ink fountain enclosing a lower portion of the design cylinder, and means for supplying ink from the fountain to said trough, said trough comprising a pair of semi-trough members abutting along a line lengthwise of the trough and mounting means movably mounting said members into and out of abutting relation with respect to each other whereby ink in the trough may be returned to the bottom of the fountain.

6. A rotary intaglio printing press including in combination an intaglio design cylinder, an ink fountain, an ink trough within the ink fountain enclosing a lower portion of the design cylinder, an ink strainer in the fountain beneath the ink trough, and means for supplying ink from the bottom of the fountain t the trough, said trough comprising a pair of semi-trough members abutting along a line lengthwise of the trough and means mounting said members for pivotal movement into and out of abutting relation with respect to. each other whereby the ink may be drained from the trough into the bottom of the fountain and access may be had to the strainer and the bottom of the fountain when said members are pivoted.

7. A rotary intaglio printing press including in combination an intaglio design cylinder, an ink fountain partially enclosing the design cylinder, said fountain comprising a longitudinal side wall having a fixed lower portion and an upper portion pivotally mounted thereon for outward movement, and an ink trough without the fountain enclosing a lower portion of the design cylinder, said trough comprising a pair of semi-trough members abutting along a line lengthwise of the trough, one of said members being secured to said upper portion of said side wall for outward pivotal movement therewith and the second of said members being pivotally mounted for upward movement.

8. A rotary intaglio printing press including in combination an intaglio design cylinder, an ink fountain partially enclosing the design cylinder, said fountain comprising a longitudinal side wall having a fixed lower portion and an upper portion pivotally mounted thereon for outward movement, and an ink trough within the fountain enclosing a lower portion of the design cylinder, said trough comprising a pair of semi-trough members abutting along a line lengthwise of the trough, one of said members being secured to said upper portion of said side wall for outward pivotal movement therewith whereby the ink in the trough may be dumped into the bottom of the fountain when said member is moved outwardly, and a flange secured to one of said side wall portions and overlapping the other said side wall portion'to prevent the escape of ink between .said side wall portions when the upper side wall portion is outwardly pivoted.

9. A rotary intaglio printing press including in combination an intaglio design cylinder, an ink fountain partially enclosing the design cylinder said fountain comprising a longitudinal side wall having a fixed lower portion and an upper portion pivotally mounted thereon, an ink trough within the fountain enclosing a lower portion of the design cylinder said trough comprising a pair of semi-trough members abutting along a line longitudinally of the trough one of said members being secured to said upper portion of said side wall for outward pivotal movement therewith and the second of said members being pivotally mounted for upward movement, an ink chamber on. the inner side of said upper side wall portion communicating with said trough, and means for supplying ink from the bottom of said fountain to said ink chamber.

CURTIS S. CRAFTS. 

